Mozambique: INGC Situation Report 31Mar 2000

1. Evolution of the Floods

There has been little change in the last few days. The river levels remain stable, with a slight tendency to fall. On the Limpopo River, the water level in the city of Xai Xai has not fallen much and remains above alert level. Because the ground is saturated, even a small amount of rain could have a large impact.

The Chicamba dam on the Revue River in the centre of the country is still discharging water, but the amount has been decreased. The Pungwe River was reported to be still flooded on 29 March, but subsiding. The company operating the Cahora Bassa dam on the Zambezi River has asked to reduce the discharge from the dam because the flow into the dam is falling. No information is available about other rivers.

2. Current Weather Forecast

Rain fell mainly in the south and the north of Mozambique from 30 to 31 March. The highest rainfall was recorded at Pemba, (53 mm) and Maputo (31.6 mm). The forecast over the next three days is for scattered showers in the north and the south, with little cloud in the centre. The progress of a cyclone forming over the Indian Ocean is being monitored. It is expected to reach Madagascar by 02 April and Mozambique by 04 or 05 April.

3. Information update

A representative from Link, the NGO forum in Mozambique, is to be posted full-time in the INGC Co-ordination Centre to assist with NGO liaison.

Logistics co-ordination will meet three times a week at the INGC to share information and to ensure that assistance is being taken to areas in need. The meetings are scheduled for 09.30 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

INGC Sitrep 31/03/2000

According to information supplied by the Office for Co-ordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) in Geneva, donors have declared donations amounting to USD 133 million in response to Mozambique’s appeal for emergency flood relief. The donations have come from 56 countries, including a large number of African countries, eight organisations and nine UN agencies.

The Prime Minister is currently visiting Gaza province, including Mapai in the north of the province. He has recommended that action be taken to assist the normal commercial sector in Gaza’s northern districts, which have been cut off by the Limpopo floods. The Ministry of Public Works and Housing could possibly organise alternative routes to Inhambane through Chibuto. Moreover, there is a great need for seeds in Gaza province.

4. Reports from Sector Desks

Food

The WFP delivered 316 tonnes of food on 29 and 30 March. The breakdown of the deliveries is: Maputo 12 tonnes, Gaza 206 tonnes, Sofala 34 tonnes, Manica 39 tonnes and Inhambane 25 tonnes. This brings the cumulative total of food delivered since the start of the emergency operation on 11 February to at least 5,700 tonnes. This cumulative total includes previously unreported deliveries.

The main priority regarding food aid deliveries remains the transport of food aid by road. Trucks that were loaded with food in Beira for delivery to Xai Xai have been held up because more rain has cut the road north of the Save River. Daily flights to Chibuto are also important for supplying areas north of the Limpopo River.

The WFP is currently buying 5,500 tonnes of maize in grain, 3,000 tonnes of maize meal and 200 tonnes of beans inside Mozambique, in addition to whole maize being bought in South Africa.

Needs assessment was carried out in Massingir on 30 March and is planned for Mabalane and Mapai on 01 April and Chicualacuala on 02 April, with Government and NGO officials. Assessment missions will go to Massangena and Chigubo next week. All the areas mentioned are in Gaza province.

IGCN in Beira reported that a riot broke out at Chissinguane when Food for the Hungry International (FHI) tried to distribute food on 28 March. The cause was apparently a neighbouring community that felt it should also receive food aid. The food distribution was suspended and WFP is to investigate the need to include the other community.

Agriculture

The emergency committee on agriculture urgently requires information from donors and NGOs about the quantities and estimated arrival dates of donations of seeds and tools in the districts. It plans to provide daily information on the delivery of seed and tool kits to ensure the success of the operation. However, the committee urges donors to distinguish information on seeds and tools from that on other types of assistance.

Distribution plans for seeds and tools must be presented in good time to the logistics co-ordination centre, since the distribution is being co-ordinated with food aid deliveries.

Planning of seed and tool supplies are based on the needs of 125,000 households, but this figure could change as fresh information is received from the field. The United States has donated seed and tool packs valued at USD 1,058,000, distributed as follows.

USAID Seed and Tool donation

Health

The Ministry of Health is concerned about delivery of basic goods, water and wages to its staff in Chicualacuala and Massangena, in the remote northern part of Gaza province.

The regional head of the World Health Organisation is currently visiting Mozambique to study the possibility of strengthening the health sector. The WHO delegation visited an accommodation centre at Vila Franca do Save, on the Save River. The centre provides accommodation for 400 people, who are living in reasonable conditions, with clean water, latrines and food. Similar conditions were found at Pande, where it was confirmed that 20 tents had been delivered to provide shelter for health workers displaced from Nova Mambone. At Guara Guara in Buzi district, Sofala province, the delegation found that displaced families being resettled had access to clean water and latrines and were served by health workers.

Health assessment has been carried out in Tete province, notably Zumbo, Magoe and Mutararra districts. The health facilities in all three districts had a 3-month supply of basic medicines and there were no major outbreaks of disease, although 141 cases of malaria and 52 of diarrhoea were recorded in Zumbo. Access to Zumbo is through Zambia and Zimbabwe. Access to Magoe, which had been cut in early March, has now been re-established. However, Mutararra is only accessible via Malawi, which is normal at this time of year.

As regards epidemiological information, 711 cases of cholera, including 8 deaths, have been reported in Mozambique since 27 March. Of these 576 were in Maputo city, 108 were in Sofala province and 27 were in Matola.

Water/Sanitation

Work has begun in the clean up of Chokwe town in order to create conditions for displaced people to return home. A public awareness campaign on environmental health and hygiene is also under way. The pumps intended for drainage in Xai Xai have arrived in Maputo.

The working group in this sector is gradually obtaining information on which organisations are working in the sector and where. However, information is still lacking for some areas because not all organisations attend the meetings.

One of the major constraints on work in the water and sanitation sector is a shortage of transport to carry out assessments. In addition, more support will be needed for reconstruction.

Shelter/Accommodation centres/Non-food items

The working group on shelter is continuing to gather information on the needs in the accommodation centres, as well as contacting NGOs and other institutions to prepare for the resettlement phase.

This group has drawn up a set of basic principles to be followed in the resettlement of displaced people. A copy of these principles is attached to this report.

Shelter materials for 400 households were sent from Beira by road to Mossurize in Manica province. The Lutheran World Federation has expressed interest in working in the provision of shelter in Mossurize. Nova Sofala received shelter materials from Beira on 28 March, but no details of quantities or types of material are available.

Logistics

The Joint Logistics Operation Centre (JLOC) announced that operations would be reduced over the weekend in order to carry out essential maintenance on the aircraft.

The cumulative total of air operations was reported as 5,119.3 hours of flying time as of 30 March, with 5,1616 tonnes of cargo and 20,676 passengers.

DFID of the UK have provided four helicopters, three with 0.5 tonne capacity and one with 2.5 tonne capacity, for air operations out of Beira.

Customs

Importers must ensure that the INGC is informed in advance of the arrival of goods and that the Emergency Document is completed. Copies of guidelines prepared by the customs department on importation procedures are available at the INGC Co-ordination Centre. Customs must still fulfil its normal duties of collecting revenue and preventing smuggling, as well as dealing with the clearance of emergency goods.

Roads

The National Directorate of Roads provided in formation on the following roads.

The priority in the road sector is the main national highway (EN1), but work has started on an alternative route to bypass the Limpopo valley bottom at Chicumbane. This alternative is through Chissano to Chibuto and it could be ready within a week. The EN1 is also cut at the Muori River, north of the Save, but another break at the Ripembe River has already been repaired. The road repair brigade is still in place there for further work.

5. Field information

Gaza

The following assessment report summary on Massingir district was received from MEDAIR after a visit on 25 March.

• There are 15 villages along the Elephants River with a total of around 2050 families. 3 additional villages are situated along the Chinguidze River, with a total of 373 families.
• Most of the villages lost their entire crop. One village was completely flooded, in others some houses were lost.
• HEALTH: most villages north of the river are temporarily cut off from their usual health post. Malaria, diarrhoea and in one village measles were reported
• WATSAN: in at least one village pumps were flooded. Some villages have latrines, others never used latrines prior to the floods. Some villages drink from the river.
• NGO Presence: As yet, there is no NGO present in the area.
• According to information from the Ministry of Health, AIM (Portuguese NGO) will start a health programme in the coming two weeks on a long-term basis.
• On the list of Action Aid (co-ordinating NGO for seeds/tools) VETAID is mentioned as the NGO for seeds.
• NEEDS: Food, till next harvest (up to now only Tchaque received WFP food drops), seeds, health: mobile clinic for isolated villages until water goes down.
• WATSAN: obviously something can be done, it will be mostly development as there was very little service prior to the floods.
• Household: around 100 families might need assistance in essential items
• Hygiene: soap is needed by all.

Sofala

The following report was received from the Beira office of the INGC on 31 March, 2000.

CONCERN report that people are gradually moving from Buzi Sede to Guara-Guara by boat, they moved 33 people yesterday and 30 people the day before. More tents will be needed and CVM have indicated that they can provide 30 more to start with. They estimate that 270 families are currently in Guara-Guara and 837 families that want to move to Guara-Guara. The boat is private and only takes 20 people at a cost of 800,000 meticais a trip or 450,000 plus 60 litres of fuel and 3 litres of engine oil. CONCERN left enough money for 5 more crossings. CONCERN suggest that the road be repaired as soon as possible and have agreed to engage a tractor to help with a FFW project with WFP and the District Administration to repair the road. CONCERN has also agreed to provide CVM with the transport they were lacking for tents to Guara-Guara.

A WVI representative went to Nova Mambone by road with a 4x4 truck. There have been temporary repairs that allow access up to Save Bridge but from there to Nova Mambone the road is in a bad state, especially the last 30km. He reported that it is very muddy, with treacherous driving conditions and there are fallen trees that need to be cut and moved out of the way. Repairing this road will also give access to Machanga.

The airstrip at Machanga can also be repaired and WVI will send a technical expert to survey it and plan to rehabilitate it in collaboration with WFP using FFW.

It was reported that there is a problem with keeping the latrines clean in Save as they are very shallow and attract flies. DPS will look into this. There is also a problem with the population trying to move to Machanga and in most cases failing to either reach Machanga or make it back to Save, while sustaining injuries in the attempt. The only explanation for this that was forwarded was that they might have heard that seeds and tools were being distributed in Machanga.

INGC will send a delegation to Save for talks with the Inhambane Provincial Government and the above issue of population movement, as well as resettlement and other issues will be discussed. People will have to be resettled in order to commence planting.

WVI are preparing to distribute seeds in Machanga with WFP collaboration on the food front.

INGC Manica report that Chitobe in Manica Province is now accessible via Muxungue. They have moved 79.6MT of maize to Chitobe. They report cases of malnutrition in Sambassoca and an increase in the number of malaria cases from 5-10 per day to over 43 yesterday. A CONCERN report counts 811 families in Sambassoca. They report not having received food for 5 days. Two people have died of malaria in Machaze district within the last few days and there has been an increase in diarrhea and respiratory diseases. The educational centre in Machaze needs more tents for its 120 students. Only five have been received so far. WFP, DPS and INGC will look into these matters urgently.

New arrivals: Service International who are undertaking an assessment and work in the area of shelter. They were accompanied by Compassion Ministries of Harare, also on an evaluation mission. Lutheran World Federation will expand on their present program in Chibabava and Buzi districts.

This report was produced by the INGC Co-ordination Centre with assistance from UNDP. It incorporates information provided by INAM, DNA-DRC, WFP, UNICEF and other participating agencies.

SHELTER

BASIC PRINCIPLES

The principles that guide and define the general design and operation of shelter project are:

Registration of beneficiaries and distribution of shelter kits will be undertaken in close collaboration between partner organisations, the District Administration and community leaders.

The implementing agencies will inform and update the Resettlement Co-ordination Committee and the District Administrations regarding the operations, activities and location of the Project.

Every family that has suffered structural damage to their dwelling will receive benefits that will allow them to construct roof coverage of at least 20m2, although the exact content of the materials may vary between groups.

Goods and materials offered as assistance to the beneficiaries will be purchased within Mozambique where possible.

Construction materials used will be limited to appropriate items that do not extend beyond the capacities of the local builders.

The projects will be scheduled with realistic timeframes, taking into account the lag time for procurement and transport of materials, proper registration of beneficiaries, and actual distribution periods.

The assistance provided would be a one-off package that will incorporate links and proactive interaction with longer-term development objectives.

In formulating the project, due consideration will be given to water and sanitation issues, either directly through the implementing organisation or through communication with other organisations working on these issues in the same location.

All consideration will be given to minimising environmental impact.

Participating organisations agree to partake in a post-project evaluation.